Fiona Paul - Belladonna

Or blood.

Horrified, Cass spun around to glare at the jailer.

He ignored her accusing look. “Last one.” He pointed toward the corner of the room. “You have five minutes.”

Cass gathered Siena’s cloak around her body and strode toward the cell at the end, slouching low to account for the sloping roof. Mindless of the grimy floor, she crouched down and peered through the circular grate, into the cell beyond. “Luca?” she whispered.

The blackness seemed to recede into forever, as if Cass were staring at a pit that went all the way to hell. A blurry figure materialized from the dark.

Luca knelt before the grate, his soft eyes peeking out at her with surprise. His beard was a little unkempt and there were bluish circles under his eyes, but otherwise he looked unharmed. His hair glistened with sweat, and the fabric of his doublet clung fast to his chest. “You shouldn’t be here,” he whispered. “They’ll kill you if you get caught. Besides, there’s nothing you can do.”

Cass pressed one hand against the grate. She cast a glance back over her shoulder at the wooden table. “Are they hurting you?”

“No,” he said.

Not yet. Cass couldn’t shake the feeling that his predicament was her fault. “There has to be something. You’re innocent. Tell me how I can prove it.”

Luca shook his head. “You can’t, Cass. The testimony has been bought and paid for. No one will go against Dubois. He owns half of the Council of Ten.”

The Council of Ten was a group of senators elected from within the general council. Hortensa’s husband, Don Zanotta, sat among them. They were some of the most powerful men in all of Venice. They and Joseph Dubois.

“But I know the names of your accusers,” Cass said, fanning herself with her free hand. Rivulets of sweat were beginning to trickle down the sides of her neck. “Donna Hortensa Zanotta, for one.”

Luca frowned. “I’ve never even met her.”

“If I could persuade her to recant her statement, do you suppose you might go free?” She let the tips of her fingers curl their way through the grate.

“Unlikely,” he said. “It’s my understanding she is one of several accusers, all of whom probably gave false testimony at the behest of Dubois.” Luca reached his own hand up so that his fingertips met Cass’s. “Promise me you won’t go threatening Dubois. There’s no point in both of us dying.”

Cass twined her fingers through Luca’s, their hands separated only by the network of steel bars. She leaned forward until her forehead rested against the grate. “But I don’t understand,” she whispered. “What did you do to make him so angry?”

Luca lowered his voice to a whisper. “Dubois is a member of a group called the Order of the Eternal Rose. When my father died, he gave me a key that unlocked a hiding place to certain papers relating to this Order. I told Dubois I would make these pages public unless he sent Cristian away, but then Dubois demanded I relinquish the papers to him. I told him I had burned the papers, but he didn’t believe me.”

“What’s so special about these papers?” Cass’s eyelashes flicked against the metal grate as she blinked.

“Dubois thinks the papers incriminate him in crimes perpetrated by the Order.”

“What crimes?”

“That’s exactly it. I have no idea,” Luca said, shaking his head. “I only know the Order must be involved in something terrible. Unfortunately the papers aren’t quite as incriminating as I let on.”

“It was all a bluff,” Cass said, starting to understand.

Luca sighed. “Dubois’s name is on them, but there are no crimes mentioned. They’re largely chemical formulas and research notes. They’re part of a larger book—the Book of the Eternal Rose. That’s what he’s really looking for. According to my father, the complete set of pages describes enough atrocities committed by Dubois and the other members to have them executed several times over.”

“So this book is the only way to fight Dubois? Do you know where it is? I’ll bring it to you. I’ll . . . ,” she trailed off.

“Cass.” Luca squeezed her fingers, and her insides went a little weak. “You owe no debt to me. Have your aunt arrange another match, perhaps with someone of your own choosing. Go be happy. It’s what I want for you.”

“Luca!” Her voice rose in pitch. “Don’t even speak like that.” Once upon a time she’d dreamed of those words. Go be happy. Luca releasing her so she could be with Falco. But she hadn’t meant for it to come to this. It couldn’t come to this. She could never be happy with someone else, knowing that only Luca’s execution had made it possible. And what exactly did he mean, someone of her own choosing ?

“Quiet,” the jailer growled. “You have one more minute.”

“Tell me more about the book,” Cass begged. “I can find it.”

Luca exhaled deeply, touching his forehead to hers. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Cass.” His voice threatened to break apart on the last word. He reached his other hand up to stroke Cass’s cheek with a single fingertip.

“ I don’t want you to die,” Cass whispered. A droplet of sweat fell from her chin and landed on the dusty floor in front of the cell. Inside of her, a wound opened, spilling sadness and rage throughout her body. Luca was brave. Luca was innocent. Luca would never let her rot away in a prison cell.

Their fingers were still intertwined, their foreheads touching. Connected. So close. Their eyelashes practically weaving together.

Cass realized she could kiss him. She could just tilt her head slightly and their lips would meet. For the first time she wanted to. She wanted to show him that she cared for him, that she was a good and decent woman, not the kind of person who would just let him die because it was convenient to do so.

Luca reached up with his free hand again. Cass felt certain he was going to angle her mouth toward his. Her eyelids started to flutter closed, but then stopped when she felt a point of pressure against her throat. She realized her cloak had fallen open, and that her lily pendant was exposed. Luca was touching it.

“I’m so glad you’re wearing it,” he whispered, his voice growing hoarse. “It’ll be something for you to remember me by.”

Cass swallowed down a lump in her throat. She touched her lips to the corner of his jaw, exhaling hard against his skin. “Stop it this instant. I will not give up on you, Luca da Peraga.”

Luca turned his mouth so his lips just barely brushed against hers, so quickly her mouth formed an O of surprise. Her legs wavered and her body threatened to crumple to the floor. She didn’t know if it was the unbearable heat or her uncomfortable position. Or the kiss. She closed her eyes for a second, holding fast to Luca’s hand until her bones went steady again.

He chuckled, an actual laugh. “Now, no matter what happens, I’ll have that to remember you by.”

Cass leaned forward and felt the metal bars of the grate digging into her skin. She didn’t care. Suddenly she wanted to be as close as she could to Luca. Luca, who now wanted her to forget his death and find someone else with whom she could be happy. Cass had never known such selflessness before. She pressed her mouth hard against his, ignoring his sweat and the stubble of his beard digging into her skin. His whole body tensed in response. For one sweet moment, the filth and the stench and the grimness of the situation dissipated. All Cass felt was herself and Luca, connected.

When they broke apart, she struggled to catch her breath. “Now stop talking of remembrances and tell me where to find this book.”

Luca touched his free hand to his lips. His face was flushed and his eyes were bright. “My father believed the book was in Florence, the birthplace of the Order.” He dropped his voice. “But I can tell you for certain where to find the pages.”